BALI CALENDAR

THE "INCREDIBLE
BUSYNESS" OF BALI, in Margaret Mead's apt phrase, produces an endless stream
of festivals, anniversaries, celebrations, dances, dramas, and offerings.
And none of these myriad events takes place without an auspicious date
first being picked for it. There are good days - dewasa luwung - and bad
days - dewasa jelek - for doing any of these things. Even seemingly ordinary
activities, such as chopping wood or building a house, can only be undertaken
when the day is right. And keeping track of all these good and bad, proper
and dangerous dates are no less than three independent calendar systems.In
Bali, two very different systems are overlaid on the familiar Western calendar
-the 210-day Pawukon calendar, and the Saka lunar calendar.

Pawukon
calendarThe Pawukon
cycle appears extremely complex to a Westerner because its 210 days are
subdivided not according to a simple system of months and weeks, but into
ten separate week systems. There is a week that is only one day long, one
with two days, one with three, and so on, up to the ten-day week. And they
all run concurrently. Each week has been given a Sanskrit-derived name,
according to the number of days it has. The three-day week is called Triwara,
the five-day week Pancawara, the seven-day week Saptawara, and so on. And
each of the days of each of the ten different weeks has a unique name.
Thus any given calendar date may have ten diffrrent weekday names, one
for each of the ten weeks that are going on simultaneously. The number
of day names is 1+2+3+4...+10, a staggering total of 55. Not all these
weeks are equally important, however, and most Balinese pay attention to
only the three-, five-, and seven-day weeks. The day names of these three
week systems are:

TRIWARA
(3-day week)

PANCAWARA
(5-day week)

SAPTAWARA
(7-day week)

Pasah (alsoBusaya)

Beteng (al'soGalang
Tegeh
or Pekenan)

Kajeng

Umanis

Paing (also
Pahing)

Pon

Wage

Keliwon (also
Kliwon)

Redite (falls
on our Sunday)

Coma (Monday)

Anggara (Tuesday)

Buda or Budha
(Wednesday)

Wraspati
(Thursday)

Sukra (Friday)

Saniscara
(Saturday)

SAPTAWARA
DAY

PANCAWARA
DAY

CONJUNCTION
DAY

Buda
Saniscara
Buda
Anggara
Redite

Keliwon
Keliwon
Wage
Keliwon
Keliwon

no special name
Tumpek
Buda Cemeng
Anggara Kasih Pengembang

TumpekTumpek
is one of the most interesting of the coincidence dates. As mentioned above,
Tumpek occurs six times in every Pawukon and each of these dates is separately
important.

Tumpek
LandepThe first
Tumpek to take place every cycle is Tumpek Landep, the Saturday of Landep,
the second week of the Pawukon. This is a day of offerings to weapons of
war, particularly the sacred kris short swords, but also guns or other
weapons. If a family owns such a weapon, on Tumpek Landep it is reverently
unsheathed in the family temple, sprinkled with holy water, and presented
with offerings of woven coconut leaves, flowers, and fruits. Incense and
sandalwood are burned, and family members, a lay priest, or a balian -
a kind of shaman - offer prayers. The balian will know the proper mantras
for the weapon. Although originally specified for weapons of war,
the chief recipients of attention on Tumpek Landep today are motorcycles,
trucks, and automobiles which, though certainly lethal weapons, seem hardly
to be what the founders of Balinese Hinduism had imagined.

Tumpek
UduhTumpek
Uduh falis five weeks later on Saturday of Wariga, the seventh week This
day has many alternate names, including Tumpek Nyuh ( coconut"). This is
a day to offer respect to trees, particularly the coconut palm that are
important to the livelihood of the Baliriese. In South Bali the trees are
dressed in traditional Balinese clothes, complete with a headband, tlie
udeng, a kilt-like kamben, and a special scarf, saput, as a belt. Then
the tree is hit ceremonially with a hammer to notify it that offerings
are nearby and to ask it to produce abundant fruit.

The third Tumpek is the most important, partially because it is also a
Kajeng Keliwon and partly because it marks the end of the most important
of the regular religious ceremonies, called Galungan.

Tumpek
KuninganTumpek
Kuningan, usually called just Kuningan, takes place on the Saturday of
the 12th week of the Pawukon cycle, which is the Tumpek's namesake. The
activities of Kuningan - which comes from the word for "yellow," kuning,
because the turmeric in rice offerings gives them this color - is part
of the elaborate Galungan ceremony which will be described below.

Tumpek
KrulutOn the
17th week Tumpek Krulut takes place, taking its name, like Kuningan, from
the week of its occurrence. On this day offerings are made to the musical
instruments, masks, and dance costumes used in many of the religious ceremonies
in Ball. The instruments and other paraphernalia are decorated with coconut
leaf offerings, and holy water is sprinkled over them. Sometimes the members
of the group that uses the instruments and the costumes and masks gather
to pray and be blessed also. There is some variation to this practice.
In some parts of Ball Tumpek Knilut is ignored, and homage is paid to these
objects on the last Tumpek of the Pawukon.

Tumpek
KandangTumpek
Kandang, sometimes called Tumpek Andang, falls five weeks later, on Saturday
of Uye, the 22d week of the Pawukon cycle. The name comes from kandang,
the Balinese word for the household animal pen, because this is the day
to honor domestic animals, especially cows and pigs, which are higlaly
valued by the Balinese. The cows are washed, kambens, just like those humans
wear, are thrown over their backs, and special cone-shaped spirals of coconut
leaf are placed on their horns. The pigs are usually just decorated by
wrapping a white cloth about their bellies. The animals are given special
foods, prayers are offered, and they are sprinkled with rice and holy water.

Tumpek
WayangThe sixth
and last of the series, Tumpek Ririggit, or Tumpek Wayang, is again a Kajeng
Keliwon, and thus particularly important. Some areas of Ball use this date
for making offerings to musical instruments and dance equip-ment. But this
day is always the most important for the shadow play pup-pets, the wayang
kulit. Many families have inherited puppets from an ancestor who performed
them, a dalang. Of course, all dalangs have sets of them. The puppets are
taken from their box, placed in position just as if an actual performance
were being given, and blessed by the owner. A dalang will remove all his
puppets from storage - as many as 100 of them - and set them all up to
receive the offerings. It is considered very unlucky if a baby is born
on this date, and if such an event should take place on this inopportune
day, a special ceremony has to be performed in order to puri~ the child
and protect it from harm.

GALUNGAN
DAYS. The ten days between Wednesday of Dunggulan, the 11th week, and Saturday
of Kuningan, the 12th week, are a period called Galungan, or the Galungan
Days, starring on the day Galungan and ending on the day Kuningan. During
this period the most important regular reli-gious celebration in the Pawukon
cycle is held. The deified ancestors of the family descend to their former
homes during Galangan, and they must be entertained, and welcomed with
prayers and offerings. Families with deceased relatives who are buried
and have not yet been cremated thus not yet deified must make offerings
at the graves. Everyone gets to work. Penjors, long bamboo poles hung with
offerings, are erected everywhere. The tops of the penjors arching over
the narrow roads look for all the world like the top of a gothic cathedral.
Commerce practically ceases during the Galungan Days. Schools are closed,
and the normal life of the village concentrates exclusively upon the events
sur-rounding this very sacred period. On the Sunday before Galungan, called
Penyekeban, from sekeb, "to cover up," green bananas are sealed in huge
clay pots upon which a small coconut husk fire burns. Lots of bananas are
required for Galungan offerings, and this heat treatment ripens them quickly.
The next day, Penyajaan, is devoted to making the many colored cakes of
fried rice dough, jaja, that are so loved by the Balinese and used in many
ceremonies as offerings. The village markets are flill of jaja of every
description in case a busy housewife has no time to make them herself.
On the day before Galungan, called Penampahan - from nampab, "to slaugh-ter
an animal" - pigs or turtles are killed for the traditional Galungan morning
feasts. Featured at these feasts is the traditional lawar, a spicy hash
made of lihely ground turtle meat or pork and dozens of spices. Five differ-ent
kinds of hash are prepared, as are sticks of sate'. Galungan day is a time
for prayer, family get-togethers, and offerings. Almost no work is accomplished
between then and Kburigan day. The day after Galungan - called Manis Galungan
because it falls on the day Umanis of the five-day week - is a time for
visiring friends, and the roads are jammed with cars and motorcycles. Kuningan
marks the end of the Galungan celebration. It is a time f6r family groups,
prayers, and still more offerings, as the ancestors return to heaven. (Actually
this return is sup-posed to be five days alter Galungan, and the arrival
of the ancestors is five days before Galungan, but not many people know
that, and it really makes little difference.) The day alter Kuningan is
usually called Manis Kuningan (even though it falls in the next week, Langkir),
and is a time for a holiday, visiting, and flin. There are two interpretations
of the three Sugian days. Some people accept both. Many know of neither.
One is that this period is symbolic of the Mayadenawa story (See CHAPTER
4). Sugian Tenten, from enten remember," or "wake up," should bring to
mind the triumph df adharma

Kajeng
KliwonThe most
important of these conjunction days takes place when the last days of the
three- and five-day weeks coincide. It is named after the two days, Kajeng
and Keliwon, and occurs every 15 days. Kajeng Keliwon is a good day for
prayers, and many temple anniversary festivals and other religious ceremonies
are held on Kajeng Keliwon. But the day is also especially dangerous because
evil spirits are about. Every family makes special offerings to guard against
the spirits doing any harm.There
are five important conjunction days, all of which involve coincidences
between one of the days of the seven-day week and one of the days of the
five-dayweek. Each of these conjunction dates repeats at 35-day intervals,
since all are specified by coincidences between days of the five- and seven-day
weeks. And they go in regular cycles

Lunar
CalendarThis
Hindu calendar had its origins in South India during the reign of a ruler
by that name. The Saka calendar is a lunar calendar. Each of the 12 lunar
months ends on a new moon, called Tilem. The calendar begins the day after
the new moon that ends the ninth lunar month - almost always in Gregorian
March. New Year's Day, the first day of the 10th lunar month, is called
Nyepi and is an important religious day. The Saka year numbering system
is 78 years behind the Gregorian system. It is not unusual for calendar
systems to begin in March, around the time of the vernal equinox, the first
day of spring, and the general re-awak-ening from the cold and dreariness
of winter. Although Bali has no winter, parts of India do, and the Saka
calendar came from India. Even Gregorian calendar month names reflect this:
although October is our tenth month, November the eleventh, and December
the twelfth, the names of the months are derived from the Latin words for
eight, nine, and ten, because the year originally began in what we now
call March.

PAWUKON
BEGINNING/END CELEBRATION. The end and beginning of the current Pawukon
cycle is punctuated with ceremony, although the celebration is not as grand
as Galungan. The very last day of the Pawukon, Saturday of the 30th week,
Watugunung, is a special day for Saraswati, goddess of learning and wife
of Brahma. Her festival day is a time for making offerings for books, especially
the sacred lontar palm leaf books. All books are the subject of devotion
on this day. One is not supposed to read on Hari Raya Saraswati, however.
Schools have special ceremonies, and students jam the big temple, Pura
Jagat Natha, in Denpasar, for a special early-morning ceremony in wluch
they pray for success in their studies. The next four days, the first four
of the new Pawukon cycle, are special religious days. They are most fervently
celebrated in North Bali, where some people put up penjors just as for
Galungan, and where special offerings are made for the uncremated dead
in the cemeteries. The climax of these four days is on Wednesday of the
first week of the Pawukon, a day called Pagerwesi, coming from two words
meaning "iron fence." The suggestion is that one should surround oneself
with a strong fortification against the forces of evil. Pagerwesi is also
a day upon which an ancient battle between good and evil is celebrated.
The three days preceding Pagerwesi have special names and are for special
activities. Sunday, the first day of the Pawukon, is called Banyu Penaruh.
Many people who live near the sea go to the beach at dawn and symbolically
puri themselves by bathing. This is a special day for fishermen, who make
offerings for their boats and nets. Monday is called Comaribek, a day that
is not widely cele-brated. Tuesday is Sabuh-Emas, when one is supposed
to make offerings for jewelry, especially that of gold, and for the Chinese
coins that are often used in offerings.

ANNIVERSARIES.
Many Balinese anniversaries are observed according to the Pawukon cycle.
The Balinese refer to a period of five seven-day weeks as one month. There
are no "months" on the Pawukon calendar, but a division of the 210 days
into six 35-day periods conveniently approxirnates the lunar month of a
little over 29 days. The first really big ceremony for a newborn child
occurs after three of these "months," or 105 days. The ceremony is called
ngelubulanin, from telu, "three," and bulan, "month." A child's first birthday,
called an oton, takes place six "months" after birth. At this ceremony
the baby is allowed to touch the ground for the first time. The Balinese
consider it base for a baby to crawl around on the ground, animal-like,
so young babies are always carried. When they touch the ground at their
oton) a colorfiil ceremony is held. In some areas they are covered by a
cage like those used for fighting cocks. In fishing areas a circular throwing
net is flung over mother and child. Lots of offerings are made, and many
prayers are said for the health and wealth of the baby. From this oton
comes the oft-heard saying that a Balinese has two "birthdays" a year.
He doesn't really. Many people do celebrate their otons after growing up,
but it is a rather private affair, with only prayers and an offering. And
it doesn't come twice a year, but rather once every Pawukon cycle - six
Balinese "months," or 210 days. Often the calendar date of a birthday is
forgotten. It is only the Pawukon date and the year that is remembered.
For example, my friend Budi knows that he was born in 1953 on Redite-Menail
- Sunday of the 23d week.